A traditional art form of Bengal, Kantha embroidery was originally created by village women for household use. The uniqueness lay in its personalised and intricate designs. The skilful art form gradually went out of vogue.
Born and brought up in Santiniketan, artiste Biswajit Mukhopadhyay has devoted himself to the revival of this nearly-forgotten rural craft. Evolving sets of designs that are more spontaneous, powerful and innovative, he has given Kantha embroidery a new lease of life.
He studied the arts of different tribal groups in order to unravel their mystery, their symbolic meaning and magic spell, and introduced them into his own designs. Various folk arts of Bengal and Bihar find expression in his works.
His recently-stitched paintings and drawings are captivaing — mainly for their pictorial quality that features interweaving motifs, colours and textures.
Biswajit has created embroidery works that bear testimony to many artistes’ imagination, originality and creative passion. At times representative, and at other times abstract and symbolic, his works are used on shawls, spreads and wall hangings.
Also, they deserve the pride of possession simply as outstanding works of art.
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